THE 6.8 million people who provide unpaid care for a disabled, seriously-ill or older loved one in the UK save the state £132 billion a year - close to the cost of a second NHS.

The figures are revealed in a new report, Valuing Carers 2015, looking at the rising value of carers' support to the UK economy.

Compiled by Carers UK and the University of Sheffield, it shows a staggering increase in carers’ support since 2001, almost doubling from £68 billion to £132 billion. Researchers attribute this to a dramatic increase in the number of hours people are caring for, combined with an increase in the cost of replacement care.

Carers UK’s chief executive Heléna Herklots says: “If even a small percentage of people were unable to continue caring, the economic impact would be catastrophic. Worryingly, we are edging towards this possibility.”

Her warning comes as Carers UK calls for better financial support for carers and an increased investment in social care services ahead of the Treasury’s Comprehensive Spending Review on November 25.

More people are caring for a loved one than ever before. Since 2001, the carer population has grown by 16.5per cent to 6.8 million. Since 2001, the number of people providing 20-49 hours of care a week has increased by 43per cent and those providing 50 hours of care or more a week has increased by a third.

The number of people needing care, and those needing care for longer periods of time, has increased significantly since 2001. There are now 431,000 more people aged over 85 and 1.6 million more people living with a long-term illness than in 2001. But as the population continues to age, local authority support services are in decline.

Heléna Herklots adds: “Caring will touch all our lives, yet public services still haven’t grasped the extent to which our economy relies on the unpaid care provided by family and friends.

“As more people are caring for longer, they do so against a backdrop of cuts to social security and local care services. If carers aren’t supported to care well, the NHS and other public services would be forced to step in. With budgets already stretched to their limits, this would bring them to their knees."

The report outlines key recommendations from Carers UK, including: urgently addressing the underfunding of the social care system; improving financial support for carers; Introducing a right to paid care leave and stimulating a diverse care market to give carers better choice and flexibility.

Chris Whiley is the new director of Shipley-based Carers’ Resource, which supports more than 12,500 carers in Yorkshire. She said: “One of the biggest challenges we face is that a lot of carers don’t identify with the word ‘carer’.

“People who look after someone who is a friend or relative who has a long-term condition, elderly or has a disability, don’t realise they are a ‘carer’ because they care for them as part and parcel of the relationship with that person. This's why many carers say ‘I’m not a carer - it’s what I do’.

“We work closely with GP surgeries and medical centres to help make sure carers are identified - and identified early, at point of diagnosis not crisis - and this is a key way to help make sure people don’t fall through the net.

“If people aren’t aware they don’t know they have rights and that they’re entitled to support from organisations like Carers’ Resource.

“For carers to be supported, for them to be able to care with confidence and to stay healthy to do so, there needs to be a much wider recognition and respect for the role they are doing, and a greater understanding of the challenges they face on a daily basis.

“They save the country billions of pounds and their role is often relentless, overwhelming and isolating. If we can get carers to access a support network like ours we can begin to look at their individual needs and situations, and tailor support for them.”

She added: “People of any background can be a carer and each one of them has needs. Everyone needs to be recognising the important role and the contribution carers make. Employers need to make across-the-board action to support employees to be both good carers and effective members of the workforce.”

Mrs Whiley, a former assistant director of Children’s Services in Bradford, succeeds Carers Resource founder Anne Smyth, who retires at the end of November.

As a teenager, Mrs Whiley was a young carer for brother, who died of leukaemia aged six. “We lived in the country, it was remote. My mum was always at the hospital with him, 40 miles away. As the oldest, I was running the home, looking after siblings and going to school, as my dad was working,” she said. “There was no support available for any of us and it really was a traumatic time.”

* Visit carersresource.org